My life now
by PotterFan500
Summary: Ron and Hermione are living at the Burrow. During a pretty sleepless night, they start to wander what life has come to... This story is not at all finished yet or worked out. I'm looking for you, the readers, to suggest to me what could happen next...
1. Chapter 1

My life now

Chapter 1:

Ron:

It's Saturday morning, early Saturday morning and here I am, in bed, almost asleep, at 3 am. What kind of time is this to get to bed? At last I can get some rest...

3 hours later..."Daddy..."

"Mmmhh? No, no more knitted jumpers mum... Oh... Ow!" I feel a hand slapping my face.

"Lucy, go back to sleep"

"No! Daddy, my want porridge for bekfast"

"Hmmm..." As I roll over, Lucy tries poking me in the ear.

"Come on daddy, my wanna play Kidditch with you" she shouts, pulling my ear. Well, that doesn't sound too bad...

What's the time? It's 6 am... Too early...

"God! Lucy May Weasley, go back to sleep! It's too early for Quidditch and for breakfast"

Finally, after much struggle, Lucy, our two year old listens. Well, she's got into bed anyway...

Great, now I can't get back to sleep.

What has happened to me? I, Ronald Weasley have gone from being part-time Quidditch captain to full-time nappy changer dad. Being Quidditch captain means winning games, being cool and flying. Being a dad means losing sleep, being covered in magical fizz potions and flopping into bed, exhausted, at 2 in the morning.

Well, now I'm awake I suppose I might as well get up. Better than just lying here staring at the ceiling."Come on then Lucy, daddy'll make you some porridge"

"No, how about mama do it?" she says, climbing over me. Why does Hermione have to do everything for her? A muffled voice moans "Lucy, why can't daddy make you breakfast? Why does mama have to do everything? Ron, please can you find something else for her to do?" Hermione yawns. Obviously bored now, Lucy's walks out of the room, calling "Bye bye" Not to worry, mum'll play with her... She looks after her every morning, now that we're living back at home.

Ah peace again... I roll over and gaze at my wife. I see her yawning again, her face buried deep into her pillow. Poor Hermione. She looks shattered, with bags under her eyes, her bushy hair all ruffled up and her stomach all swollen with a baby in it. And she's been under so much stress and in pain that I can't help but feel a bit guilty but I smile slightly and chuckle as her tummy quivers and shakes.

"Don't... laugh" I hear Hermione mutter, her soft voice muffled by the pillow. "She's been kicking me all night and now, just when I thought she was finally asleep, she's got hiccups as well"

Should I say something? Sometimes things are better with Herm if I just keep my mouth shut...

Still, I can try, can't I? In an effort to comfort, I lean closer, wrap my arms round her and whisper softly in Hermione's ear:

"Hey, just a few more weeks and the baby'll be here. Then sleeping at night will be much harder than now"

Hang on, what did I just say?! For god's sake Ron, think a little before you speak!

Hermione opens her eyes blearily, a look of disbelief on her face.

"Is that meant to be comforting, Ronald?"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Hermione:

It's 1 am and going by our usual standards, that's an early night for me. Note to self: Don't let a two-year old have chocolate milk before bed. It makes her hyperactive. Still, Lucy's asleep at last and I'm relaxed... Time to go to sleep, I think... Just drifting off now...

10 minutes later

Awake again. I get 5 minutes rest before I get kicked hard in the ribs by our baby girl. I suppose it's impossible to get a good night's sleep when you have a two year old and you're heavily pregnant. Oh what's this? She's stopped moving. Yes! Sighing with relief and smiling, I lay back, one hand on my bump, and close my eyes. Peace at last...

Hmmm, nice try... She's started to kick even harder... Great... no sleep for mama...

Well, as I'm awake I guess I might as well do something... Something calming... Then maybe I'll be able to sleep.

Perhaps I'll go out into the garden. Maybe then I'll be able to clear my head.

Trying hard not to make too much of a noise, I crawl out of bed, my hips aching under the weight of the baby.

I must be mad going out at this time. Hopefully a bit of fresh air will help calm things down. Now where's my wand? Oh there it is, poking out under a pile of Lucy's teddies... I wonder how it got there...

'_Corpus glacius'_ There, now at least I'm cooling down, if absolutely exhausted!

What seems like hours later, I'm outside, breathing in the cool, fresh night air. Ah, this feels so much better than being in a hot, stuffy room which lacks space. As I stroll around the dark garden of the Burrow, I begin to wonder...

What has happened to me? What happened to Hermione Granger, bright, independent and ambitious? Well, she got married, had a baby, got a job at the ministry and then got pregnant again. My life has changed so much in the last few years. Success is now differently defined. Before, getting an 'outstanding' in transfiguration was a successful achievement. Now, success is... well... managing to sleep through until at least 9 am.

Talking of which, what's the time now? Bleary eyed, I glance at my watch.

1:30... Back to bed now... Hmmm, famous last words?

1 hour later:

It's 2:30am and I am STILL awake! On the plus side however, I've probably now broken the world record for most amount of nights without sleep. 5 nights in a row. As they say, when life gives you pumpkins, make pumpkin juice.

I guess I've been going through a lot of mood swings. Earlier this evening, I want nothing more than for my daughter to stop kicking me... Now, I'm laying here, hands on my belly (though it feels more like a rock), joyful in the fact that she's so active, beaming as little lumps appear and disappear.

What was it that Lucy said the other day, when she put her hands on? "Baby's playing Kidditch in mama's tummy" "Hmmm... Maybe we've got another Weasley Quidditch player on the way" I smile, tracing little circles on my bump with my finger.

At least she is moving a lot now, unlike last Saturday when she didn't move at all until 10am. I'd lain in bed crying, until Ron came in...

Flashback:

_How long I'd been lying here, crying, I never knew. I heard Ron get into bed next to me. Not wanting to show my face or disappoint him, I rolled over, still trying to work it all out in my head._

"_Hey Herm, what's wrong sweetheart?" he whispered, wrapping his arms round me._

"_The baby... I think we've lost her" I sobbed._

"_You sure?"_

"_Well, she hasn't moved at all since yesterday evening... I've tried talking and poking her. Nothing... so..."_

_Ron waited a few moments, stroking my hair, the fingers of one hand locked with mine on my rounded belly. "I'm just scared because... because..."I rolled over, burying my face in Ron's jumper. I opened my eyes as Ron's lips brushed my cheek. He spoke softly "Because of what happened last time?" _

_Nodding silently, I hugged Ron closer. _

"_Hang on... let me try something"_

_Smiling weakly, I knew what he was doing. "Ron it's not gonna work..." It couldn't work..._

_Putting his lips and his hand to my tummy, Ron started to speak in a hopeful voice:_

"_Hey little baby, you listening? It's daddy here. You just tired yourself out last night, didn't you? You're ok, we know you're ok sweetheart... Come on, give us a good kick, like you did yesterday! Come on... right on the nose ag- oh! Ow, right on target!"_

_Wiping my tears away, I smiled with a mixture of relief and incredulity as Ron gently poked and kissed my belly and the baby punched and kicked in response. _

"_Daddy's little girl!" I sighed happily. What a relief!_

Looking back, maybe I shouldn't have been so doubtful. Every time Ron talks to the baby, she goes absolutely crazy, like now. Ron told me the other day that his heart skips a beat every time he feels or sees her move. And like when I was pregnant with Lucy, he's always making sure that I'm absolutely 100% comfortable and taken care of, sometimes to my annoyance I must say. Tonight, for instance, Ron insisted he take a copy of our midwife's contact details with us to Harry and Ginny's party. His reasoning: "You might eat something that's spicy"Laughing, I imitated Ron's irrational panic: "You've gotta come now! She's eating a samosa!" Now, since its 2:40am, I can relax in the knowledge that Ron's obviously having a great time without feeling any shame about staying out late without me.

It's quite relaxing really, having some mama-baby time while Lucy's asleep in the room next door and Ron's still at the party. Living at the Burrow, I don't get much time to myself nowadays, not like when we had our own flat... Hmmm, seems the baby likes it too... "Hhh, since you won't let me sleep, we might as well make the most of this time, yes?" I whisper to my bump, smiling faintly. Her movements now seem even stronger than they were earlier. Ah, she's stopped moving now. She must be listening to me or... no, she's turned over to go to sleep... yes!

Now I can at last get some shut eye. Oh, wait, now she's got hiccups! When will this end?! Great, here comes another sudden drop in my mood... Lying here in bed, I begin to wonder about other things, my mind suddenly racing. Should I say something to Molly about the fact that she spoils Lucy so much? I mean I've mentioned it _so _many times before yet she still ignores me on this. On Thursday, even after insisting that Lucy didn't need any more gifts, they still came back with half of Fluffy Farm's gift shop in plastic bags. And with another grandchild coming soon, I don't see that pile of presents getting any smaller... Yes, I think I'll talk to her tomorrow.

What with being pregnant, losing sleep and trying to organise a Save The Elves campaign at work, I've been so absent minded lately that I've been forgetting the simplest things... I left the bath taps running the other night almost flooding the whole bathroom. It was such a relief when I finally got into that hot bath, finally able to relax after a short, rather less dramatic argument with Ron.

Oh, speak of the devil! That slam must be Ron coming in... at 3 in the morning!

Turning over, I close my eyes and bury my face in my soft pillow. Now I'll have to at least_ pretend_ to be asleep...

...like I should have been hours ago...


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Hermione woke that afternoon, a niggling thought in the back of her mind. How was life going to continue smoothly, now that she, Ron and Lucy were living at the Burrow? Finally, she'd had to admit to herself that this wasn't just temporary. This was her home for the next... well... goodness knows how long. The other day, Ron had gone back to their rented flat to pick up 'the last of the stuff' as their rental contract had now come to an end. When Molly had suggested that, after their contract ended, they come and stay with them, it had seemed to be the perfect plan; there was plenty of space for all of them to live comfortably, the surrounding countryside was beautiful, with fields and forest for the children to roam freely and there was always someone there to help and support.

Still, Hermione felt that she wanted her own space. She'd underestimated how much she _needed_ her own space, to not be constantly "molly"coddled. As if reading her mind, there came a soft knock at the door.

"Hermione? Are you ok dear? It's gone 1, you must be hungry. I've brought you some food" Molly called through the closed door.

"Oh... thanks Molly but you didn't need to. I was just going to get up"

As she was speaking, Molly pushed open the door with her leg, balancing a tray laden with food; fresh home-made bread, fried eggs and bacon, a steaming mug of hot chocolate, a bunch of grapes and a bowl of soup.

"Well, I just thought I'd bring you something. You're eating for two now, remember? I mean, even if you're not hungry, you've got to make sure the baby gets enough nourishment. It's not good for either of you to miss breakfast and..."

Hermione interrupted her "Thank-you Molly, but I think I can manage ok on my own"

"Well, there's some food in the kitchen for you if you want it dear" Molly finished. A little crestfallen, she carried the enormous tray of food back into the kitchen.

Up, washed and dressed, Hermione went into the living room, to find Molly sitting in the armchair reading a book to Lucy. She sat down slowly on the sofa, taking her tray of food which was on the coffee table. The food itself had been enchanted so that it stayed hot and fresh however long it was left.

"Right, I'm off to Diagonalley to do some shopping" uttered Molly as Lucy hopped off her lap and ran into the corner to play with her toys. "Is there anything you want me to get while I'm out, Hermione?" she asked.

"No thanks Molly. I'm... I mean we... are both fine" Almost instinctively though, Hermione knew what Lucy was going to say... the one sentence that always worked on all her grandparents...

"Nana buying me presents?" said Lucy's voice from the corner of the room.

Yes, Hermione had predicted correctly...

"Well if nana sees something, she'll buy it for you sweetie"

Hermione decided that now was the time to say something. Now, before her mother-in-law went out and spent money on unnecessary toys and clothes. She had to at least speak her mind about this.

Getting up with difficulty, she walked over to the table, where Molly was writing her shopping list with a quill and parchment.

"Molly, could I have a quick word with you please, before you go out?"

"Yes of course Hermione dear. What is it?" asked Molly, still writing her list; quills, parchment, floo powder, chicken feed... the list went on and on until Molly wrote the last item; 'Something for Lucy'

"Uh, I just wanted to talk to you about you and Arthur buying Lucy all these erm..." She tried to think of a tactful way of saying it. Finally she decided that there was no tactful way to put it "...unnecessary toys, books and clothes. I really don't feel that she needs this much... stuff" she said, giving Molly a hopeful look. "Just because she asks for a present, it _really_ doesn't mean that anyone needs to get her one..."

As if there was some gift emergency, Lucy ran over to Hermione and said in a cheery, pleading voice "Maybe if Lucy say thank-you for presents?"

This seemed to always be Lucy's reasoning, Hermione thought.

"No Lucy, you have enough toys for now."

Obviously not really listening, Molly replied: "Well, I don't really think that we get her too much. I mean, I only buy her one thing whenever I go shopping a-"

"Which is on a weekly basis" interrupted Hermione. "I mean, it's very generous but I'm..."

Rudely, Molly interrupted her, looking frantically at the clock on the wall "Goodness! 2 pm already?! I'm sorry Hermione but I really have to get going so I get there before the shops shut. We'll talk later, ok?" Hermione heard the front door close with a bang.

Yet again, Molly hadn't listened, or she'd pretended to be listening. With a creaking sound, Molly's hand on the Weasley clock turned from 'Home' to 'Shopping'

Hermione sighed. Why, oh why did Molly always go against her will? It seemed that Molly always skirted around conversations that she did not like. She seemed to think that it was a basic human right of hers to spoil Lucy and the baby on the way. Knowing that her parents in law didn't have much money didn't make matters much better either...

Finally deciding to leave this matter for now, Hermione went over to where Lucy was sitting, playing with her Mega Bloks, amidst a pile of so many other toys... Yes, she and Molly certainly would have a 'talk' later...


End file.
